One-hand-operable memorandum holder



March 20, 1962 J. MAGGIO ET AL ONE-HAND-OPERABLE MEMORANDUM HOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 26, 1960 Latin" INVENTORS 29 PAUL J. MAGGIO LLOYD W. DAVISON March 20, 1962 P. J. MAGGIO ETAL 3,026,126

ONE-HAND-OPERABLE MEMORANDUM HOLDER Filed May 26. 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 26 ,23 4 I5! Isl l$l 28 20' I 2:4 20' INVENTORS PAUL J. MAGGIO LLOYD W. DAVISON GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII United States Patent Qfilice 3,026,126 PatEnted Mar. 20, 1952 3,026,126 GNE-HAND-OPERABLE lVIEMORANDUM HOLDER Paul J. Maggie and Lloyd W. Davison, Fort Dodge, Iowa,

aesignors of one tenth to Gadget-Of-The-Month Club, lno, North Hollywood, Calif., a corporation of California Filed May 26, 1960, Ser. No. 32,019 2 Claims. (Cl. 281-44) The present invention consists of a memorandum holder adapted to be effectively opened and engaged with respect to a sheet of paper, a card, or other memorandum medium while using only the hand carrying the paper, card, or other memorandum medium. In other words, the device does not require that one hand he used for opening the device while the other hand inserts a memorandum medium thereinto or removes same therefrom, as is the case with conventional prior art memorandum holders. This is advantageous in a great Variety of conditions where the other hand may be needed for other purposes.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a onehand-operable holder of the character referred to above, which is of extremely simple, cheap, foolproof construction such as to be conducive to widespread use of the device.

Further objects are implicit in the detailed description which follows and will be apparent to persons skilled in the art after a careful study thereof.

For the purpose of clarifying the nature of the present invention, two exemplary embodiments are illustrated in the hereinbelow-described figures 'of the accompanying two sheets of drawings and are described in detail hereinafter.

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary, partly broken-away, oblique view of one illustrative embodiment of the present invention shown in normal closed position.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken in the direction of the arrows 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken in the direction of the arrows 33 of FIG. 1 illustrating the memorandum-engaging frictional means.

FIG. 4 is an oblique view generally similar to FIG. 1 but illustrating a slightly modified form of the invention having a modified resilient hinge means.

FIG. 5 is an elevational view taken in the direction of the arrows 55 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a view, partly in cross-section and partly in elevation, taken in the direction of the arrows 6-6 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 5 but shows the device in the process of being manually opened for the purpose of inserting or removing a memorandum or piece of paper with respect to the memorandum-engaging tfrictional means.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view similar to the central portion of FIG. 6 and shows the modified type of torsion spring means comprising a portion of the modified resilient hinge means employed in the version of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 48.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3 for exemplary purposes, one illustrative embodiment of the invention takes a typical exemplary form wherein it includes a back panel member 10 of resilient thin-sheet material, such as thin-sheet spring metal, or the like, although not specifically so limited. The device also includes a front panel member 11 of resilient thin-sheet material similar to the back panel member 16 and effectively interconnected with respect thereto at one end by resilient hinge means, indicated generally at 12, which acts as a hinge means and a biasing spring means efiectively biasing the back and front panel members 10 and 11 as far apart as is permitted by the restraining contact lip means 13 carried by the opposite end of the back panel member 10 and extending forwardly. It should be noted that the restaining contact lip means 13 is substantially parallel to the back panel member 10 and is connected thereto by an end member 14 whereby to form a substantially U-shaped structure having the outer spaced restraining contact lip means 13 so positioned as to abut the outer surface of the free end 15 of the front panel member 11 and to restrain same from further outward movement away from the back panel member 10 as a result of the outward biasing force provided by the resilient hinge means 12. It should be noted that the opposed surfaces of the restraining contact lip means 13 and the free end 15 of the front panel member 11 are normally maintained in forcible abutment whereby to be suitable for engaging and holding therebetween a memorandum, such as a piece of paper, cardboard, or other memorandum medium, until such time as it is desired to remove same from engagement between said forcibly opposed surfaces. This is illustrated in FIG. 7 in connection with the second form of the invention, but is substantially identical in connection with the first form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1-3. In order to enhance the frictional holding engagement of the forcibly opposed portions with respect to a memorandum, the opposed inner surfaces of the elements 13 and 15 may be additionally provided with dimpled projections 16 comprising an even more specific type of memorandum-engaging frictional means than just the opposed surfaces of the elements 13 and 15.

It should be noted that the resilient hinge means, indicated generally at 12, comprises an end wall of thinsheet resilient metal integrally resiliently interconnecting the front and rear panels 11 and 10 at side portions of similar ends thereof in the form of relatively narrow interconnecting strips at each side, one of which is shown in FIG. 1 at 17 and the other of which is identical and positioned at the opposite side of the resilient hinge means 12. The resilient hinge means 12 also includes a central biasing portion 18, which is convexly bowed toward the interior region defined between the front and rear panels 11 and 10 whereby to positively and effectively outwardly bias said panels 11 and 10 away from each other in the manner and for the purposes described in detail hereinbefore.

The device may, if desired, include auxiliary biasing spring means such as illustrated in FIGS. 13 in a particular specific form including leaf spring means 19 struck out of and projecting forwardly from the back panel member 10 into contact with the inner surface of the opposite free end 15 of the front panel member 11 whereby to further increase the outward biasing force exerted by said free end 15 against the restraining lip 13.

The device may be provided with mounting attachment means for mounting engagement with respect to a vertical surface or an underlying horizontal surface, or otherwise. In the specific example illustrated in FIGS. l-3, the mounting attachment means includes a plurality of downwardly directed dimpled projections 20, which may rest against a supporting surface, and a mounting hole or aperture 21 which may mount on a supporting screw, hook, nail, or the like.

The operation of the device is readily apparent from an examination of the modified form thereof shown in FIG. 7 and a further detailed description thereof is thought unnecessary in view of the full disclosure of the operating features shown in FIG. 7.

FIGS. 48 illustrate a slightly modified form of the invention wherein similar parts are indicated by similar reference numerals, primed, however. In this modification, the major change from the first form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, is the somewhat different resilient hinge means, indicated generally at 12,

V which comprises pivot pin-mounting bracket means concent spaced bottom ends of the front and back panel members 11' and 10', with said ears 22 being provided with aligned transverse aperture means 23 carrying transverse pivot pin means 24 'for pivotally mounting the front and rear panels 11 and 10' and with the transverse pivot pin means 24 being further provided with coiled torsionispring means 25 carried thereon and having biasing contact ends 26 and 27 forcibly abutting respectively the inner surfaces of front panel member 11' and the back panel member 10' whereby to force them apart. It will be readily be understood that the pivot pin mounting bracket means comprising the four apertured cars 22, the pivot pin means 24, and the torsion spring means 25, comprise structure functionally equivalent to the resilient hinge means 12 of the first form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1-3.

This modified form of the invention includes additional mounting attachment means comprising upwardly projecting ears 28, each provided with mounting hole or aperture means 29 therein for attachment with respect to a vertical wall, or the like, by suitable mounting means, screw means, hook means, or the like. Projecting dimples 29 similar to those embodied in the first form of the invention may also be included in this form or may be eliminated, if desired.

It should be understood that the figures and the specific description thereof set forth in this application are for the purpose of illustrating the present invention and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention to the precise and detailed specific structure shown in the figures and specifically described hereinbefore. Rather, the real invention is intended to include substantially equivalent constructions embodying the basic teachings and inventive concept of the present invention.

We claim: 1 A one-hand-operable memorandum holder, comprising: a back panel member of resilient thin-sheet material; a front panel member of resilient thin-sheet material; resilient hinge means integrally interconnecting adjacent ends of said back and front panel members and biasing opposite ends of said panel members apart, said resilient hinge means comprising an end wall of resilient thin-sheet material integral with said adjacent ends of said back and front panel members, said end wall having an integral central biasing portion convexly bowed inwardly toward an interior region defined between the back and front panel members, and having strips of resilient thin-sheet material integrally and resiliently interconnecting said adjacent ends of said back and front panel members at each side of said central biasing portion; and restraining contact lip means carried by said opposite end of said back panel member and extending forwardly away from said opposite end of said back panel member and then extending toward said resilient hinge means into a position forward of the forward surface of said opposite free end of said front panel member for forcible abutment therewith; and memorandum-engaging projecting frictional means efi'ectively positioned between said restraining contact lip means and said forward surface of said opposite free end of said front panel member.

2. A device of the character defined in claim 1, including cantilever spring means projecting forwardly from said back panel member into contact with the inner surface of said free end of said front panel member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 405,596 Petsche June 18, 1889 1,439,138 White Dec. 19, 1922 1,566,525 Deslibes Dec. 22, 1925 2,205,034 Dykes June 18, 1940 2,237,532 Posnack Apr. 8, 1941 

